Ruby
by Rei Helen
Summary: A prequel to Crystalline Heart, involving Guru Clef and Miata, the Byrde of the Forest of Songs.
1. How Do You Solve a Problem Like Miata?

How do You Solve a Problem Like Miata?

Guru Sable slammed his hands down on Miata's desk, stirring her out of her dozing. "How many times must I tell you," he cried with exasperation, "that there is to be no sleeping in class?!"

Miata looked up at him and yawned. "I already learned all this when I was living at the palace," she said. "Teach me something I don't know and I'll be as attentive as you please, but until then—well, g'night." She put her head back down on her arms.

Guru Sable clenched his fist, and the other students who saw his expression thought he looked as if he might explode. "Are you intent upon driving me crazy?" he demanded.

"Do you really think I care that much about you?" Miata replied, barely looking up at him.

"I can't take this any more! I have been at teacher of magic since you were in diapers, but I have never—_never_—had a student as frustrating as you!"

"I'm honored."

"I refuse to put up with you any longer."

That made Miata pay attention. "You know you can't kick me out," she told him smugly.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I have to deal with you any longer. You're being reassigned, to Guru Altima's class."

He had named the oldest, strictest teacher at the Cephiran Academy of the Magical Arts and Sciences. Guru Altima's class was rumored to be a nightmare.

Miata shrugged and stretched lazily. "Like I said, if you taught me something new, I'd listen."

Guru Sable hastily scrawled her a note and thrust it into her hand. "There. Take this down to Guru Altima. I'm done with you, and good riddance!"

Miata strode away with the confident air of a person who doesn't give a damn. When she reached the door labeled _Guru Altima_, she knocked and waited for an answer, her mind on other things. There was a school dance coming up, and she still had to find a date…

The door opened to reveal a man who was definitely _not _Guru Altima.

"I'm looking for Altima, please," Miata said, twirling a lock of her red hair impatiently. She looked the man over—not all that bad-looking, really, though maybe a bit old for her. 

"Altima passed away last night. I'm her replacement. What can I do for you?"

Miata gave him the note, and he scanned it quickly.

"So, you're Sable's troublemaker, eh?" the new Guru said.

"I see that my reputation has preceded me," Miata replied with a shrug.

"Well, it looks as if I'm your new teacher now, may the pillar's prayers be with me," he said.

"Thought you were going to have it easy, huh?" Miata replied with a grin.

"I don't believe I asked for your opinion, Miss Mazda," the Guru replied, turning his back on her. "Follow me, please. My name is Clef."

"Yes, Guru Clef," Miata replied, her tone mocking that of an obedient child.

"I want to get this settled right now. I'm not going to tolerate any of your backtalking…" Clef began, while Miata made yapping motions with her hand behind his back. The Guru spun around, and she stopped and looked at him innocently. "Are you even listening to me?"

"You do have such pretty eyes," Miata replied, batting her eyelashes at him. Clef clenched his fists and counted to ten to hold back a scream of frustration. He would not be beaten this easily!

"Welcome to your new cell, Miata," he told her, keeping his voice cold and level. "I'd like you to meet your fellow cellmates, Lincoln, Alcione, and Prism." He turned to his three other students. "This is Miata. I trust she'll make your lives a living hell. If she doesn't, it certainly won't be from lack of trying. Class is dismissed for the day. I'll see you all at 7:30 tomorrow morning."

"7:30!? What are you, nuts?" Miata grabbed Clef by the throat of his robe, glaring at him.

"Why are you so upset? You have plenty of time to get to bed, so you can be up at 7:00."

Miata let go of him and stomped away.

"I am going to kill Sable for this," Clef muttered.

Miata ran to catch up with Lincoln, whom she had judged the better looking of her two male classmates. "Hey, remember me?" she asked him cheerfully.

"Sure, you're the new girl. The one who's supposed to make my life a living hell," Lincoln replied.

Miata giggled. "Why would I want to do that?" she asked. Lincoln shook his head and started to walk away, but she chased after him.

"You doing anything tonight?" she asked.

"Of course not! I have to get up early for class tomorrow."

"You're no fun." Miata pouted and turned around—

Finding herself face to face with Alcione.

"Are you flirting with him?" she asked icily, her arms folded across her chest.

"So he's your boyfriend? I'm sorry," Miata replied mockingly.

"Don't you dare talk about him!" Alcione cried. "What makes you think that you can waltz in her like you're queen of the world, flirt with all the boys like you're some kind of whore—"

"Well, at least I don't dress like one!" Miata shot back.

"You—damn—bitch!" Alcione replied, and swung her staff at Miata, who ducked and then fought back

"You weren't in class today."

"Go away," Miata replied, burying her face in her pillow. "You don't need to rub it in." Clef sat at the foot of her bed, his hands folded primly in his lap as he looked at his student with mild concern. Her hair was mussed as if she had not been out of bed the entire day, which was probably the truth.

"Rub what in? What makes you think I didn't come out of concern for my student?" Clef replied placidly.

"Because you hate me. You shouldn't give a damn what happens to me."

"Miata, you think you know everything, don't you?"

Miata's face emerged from the pillow. "I know enough," she told her teacher.

"Well! The black eye becomes you."

Miata laughed. "You should see Alcione."

"I did." Clef had to hide his grin. Alcione had always grated on his nerves—she'd been his first student, before Altima's Lincoln and Prism had been dumped upon him as well. For once she had gotten exactly what she deserved—and that Miata had been the one to deliver the beating was almost enough for him to forgive her skipping his class. Almost. He cleared his throat. "You know, she's threatening to leave the school."

"Good riddance."

"Did you decide to stay home from class to test me?" Clef wondered idly.

Miata laughed. "You think I care that much? I just didn't feel like getting up."

"Well, I'm sure I can come up with a solution for that problem. I think that from now on, I'm going to come here every morning and make sure you get up."

Miata rolled her eyes. "Oh, you are too kind."

"You're not at the Palace anymore. The rules are different here, and it would greatly behoove you to keep that in mind." The Guru left her alone then, and Miata flipped over onto her back then, staring up at the ceiling for a long time.

Miata and Alcione exchanged glares the next day at school, but no words were spoken between them. In fact, Miata was acting surprisingly well-behaved and attentive—for her, at least.

Someone poked their head into the classroom. "Guru Clef, come quickly," they said, and the teacher excused himself, leaving his students unsupervised.

"Now we _really _settle this," Alcione began, but Miata was uninterested.

"No time, sweet pea," Miata replied, looking out the doorway cautiously before discretely following Clef to find out what was going on.

And immediately regretted her decision to do so.

"Guru Tacoma…" Clef murmured, shaking his head as he looked at the body sprawled on the ground.

"He stayed late to work last night, and I just found him like this," another Guru explained. Miata thought she was going to be sick.

"First Altima, now Tacoma—it's not a coincidence, is it?" Clef asked, his voice dully thoughtful.

"The Academy's not safe anymore."

Miata wanted to run back to her classroom, but it seemed like her feet were rooted to the floor.

__

--Miata—

--What? Cressida?--

Miata, you hear me?

Yes, I hear you! What's going on! How are you—

Miata—protect him—

Protect who? I don't understand! What are you talking about, Cressida?

The Guru…Clef… The voice was fading.

__

Cressida! 

__

So, it's a boy… The voice said, with a burst of joy that had the same feeling as hearing Cressida's gentle, bubbling laughter. Then there was silence.

__

Cressida! Oh, Cressida, answer me! Cressida! her mind seemed to cry out, but there was nothing but emptiness where the pillar's voice had been. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she couldn't stop them. "Oh no…it can't be…"

Only now did the other Gurus notice her presence.

"Miata, I thought I told you to stay in the room!" Clef began, but didn't have the heart to continue yelling when she was crying.

"You said no such thing," Miata replied, "but—oh, Clef, I think that the Pillar has died!"

"How do you know this, child?" demanded Guru Sable. "This isn't the time for one of your jokes!"

"She spoke to me in my heart, but now she's gone, and Emeraude is the pillar," she told them, her hands shaking.

"How did she die?" wondered another of the Gurus.

"I…I don't know! She only told me…just told me…" The words would not come out, and she sunk to her knees in tears.

"Miata, go back to the classroom. I will return shortly," Guru Clef told her sternly, showing little empathy for her situation.

"Make me," Miata replied.

"Miata, I will discuss this with you later."

"The whole lot of you could use some serious help," Miata muttered as she turned and left.

Guru Sable let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry I sent her to you, Clef," he said. "You certainly didn't deserve to have someone like that in your first magic class. If you want her transferred, we'll understand completely—"

"I haven't given up on her yet," Clef replied. "I'm not giving her up to anyone."

"You're just as crazy as you were when you were my student," Sable said, shaking his head.

Miata did not go back to class, but instead sought refuge in her room. Cressida couldn't really be gone…the woman who had been a second mother to her, who taught her much of what she knew of magic and life, couldn't have vanished just like that. How would Emeraude cope? She was no longer a child, Miata knew that, but neither did she have the experience and competence of Cressida.

Why did she have to die? What happened? When Miata left the palace, Cressida had been healthy, and everything was peaceful…and even if it wasn't, no Cephiran could kill the Pillar. Her last words were a mystery…Protect Guru Clef from what? And what did she mean by speaking of a boy? It didn't make sense.

Maybe she would be better able to handle it after she got over the initial grief. Miata decided that if she only possessed a limited number of tears, it would be best to get them all out now, while she was alone, and let herself cry out the anguish of her loss. She became so absorbed in it that she did not hear a gentle rapping on her door.

Clef opened the door, then pulled back…maybe it would be better to leave her alone. He hesitated in the doorway a moment, long enough for Miata to notice his presence.

"You can come in," she murmured, looking up at him with one red, puffy eye. The other was hidden by her hair, but this made her look no less miserable. Clef didn't look very cheerful, though, either.

"I knew her, too," he said softly. "I spent a few years at the palace between when I graduated and when I came to teach here. She…she seemed to take special attention to me, when nobody else would."

Miata sat up, and motioned for Clef to sit beside her. He sat, and she watched him with interest. "Go on."

"Oh, there's not much of a story, really. Cressida asked me how things were at the Academy—asked me if I'd met you, I guess, because it was just after she sent you…but no, I had graduated just before you came here. When I said I wanted to teach, she introduced me to Alcione. I guess, from the way she's turned out, though, I wasn't too good a teacher…"

"You'd have to be a wonderful teacher to put up with that bitch," Miata replied derisively.

"In fact, it was just a week ago that she told me I had to come back here. She didn't tell me why, but looking back on it, I think she knew…"

"You saw her so recently?"

"Well, actually, I hadn't seen her in—well, almost nine months. No one had. She was supposedly on a journey, and Emeraude relayed all her messages."

"Nine months…" Miata murmured, things beginning to fit into place in her mind.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just strange of her to do that." 

"Pillars are strange." Clef laughed. "You know, it's funny…I can hardly even remember what she looked like."

"I can still see her clearly," Miata replied. "But then, I was always cursed with a photographic memory."

"That doesn't sound like a curse to me."

Miata laughed. "Maybe it isn't the memory that's a curse…just the things I remember seem that way, sometimes."

"You don't like to let people get near you, do you, Miata?" Clef asked. Miata laughed again, though it sounded forced.

"What gave you that idea? I love people, I love being around people, it's being alone that I can't stand."

"I see," Clef replied. "But it seemed to me that you were only trying to push people away."

Miata shrugged. "I guess I don't know. I don't like it here, but I don't know where else there is to go. With Cressida dead, there's no point in going back…Cressida's dead. How can that be?" Her eyes tearing over again, she threw herself into Clef's arms, taking him by surprise. He didn't know what to say to her, only patted her back gently while she cried herself out. After several minutes spent dampening his shirt, murmuring to herself and rubbing her head against his shoulder, she pulled away from him and looked up at him angrily.

"Get out of here," she demanded. "I just want to be left alone!"

"Miata, I—"

"Go away!"

Clef left, feeling entirely confused and upset. He had known from the moment he met her that she would be difficult—but how difficult, he never would have guessed…


	2. Running Away

Running Away

"Wake up, you." Clef poked Miata's shoulder, but his student just rolled over and pulled her pillow over her head.

"Go away," she moaned.

"What's wrong with you now?" Clef demanded incredulously.

"You wouldn't understand. I bet you've never even had a hangover."

"You have a hangover on a Wednesday morning," Clef stated flatly. Nothing was surprising any more.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, you'd better start packing," Clef told her.

"You can't kick me out," Miata replied, sitting up. Her sleeping apparel consisted of a shift with narrow straps holding it on the shoulders, and one of these straps had fallen partway down her arm, exposing a great deal of skin. She didn't seem to notice, but Clef turned a bright red and turned away. Miata fixed the strap as he spoke with his back to her.

"I'm not kicking you out," he said. "We're leaving. You have an hour to pack."

"Whaddaya mean, we're leaving?" Miata yawned, sliding out of bed and stretching. 

"The Academy isn't safe any more. The classes are all splitting up and going to different, safer places."

"So where are we going?" she asked. Just as Clef decided it might be safe to turn back around, she bent over to get her suitcase from under her bed, and he blushed again and looked away.

"The Forest of Silence."

"The Forest of Silence?" Miata exclaimed, slamming her suitcase down on her bed. "What, are you mad? Your magic doesn't work there!"

"Where would you least expect a magic class? Only a minimum of study requires the actual use of magic, for which my powers are strong enough to suspend the matrix of magic prevention that exists in the forest."

"Yeah, whatever," Miata replied.

Clef left her to her packing, closing the door softly behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Clef turned around to see Alcione, dressed for travel, standing behind him. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend you don't know." Alcione smiled coldly, walking towards him. "In and out of her room at all hours, always paying her special attention—it's not even been a week, and already the rumors fly."

Clef blushed but remained composed. "She needs special attention if she is to learn anything. Her potential amazes me."

"Her 'potential'? In what sense do you mean, 'potential'?"

A small part of Clef's mind wondered at how easy it was for young people to twist any word to mean something sexual. "I mean as a magician, of course!" Clef was beginning to wilt. He tried to be tolerant, but he had never liked Alcione.

"Oh, you can fool yourself all you want, but everyone can see that you like her. It's obvious."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm through with this school. There's nothing left you damned Gurus can teach me."

"Are you crazy? There's so much more you need to—"

"Graduation from this place means nothing to me. I'm going to the palace, to learn magic from Sol Zagato. Now that's a real sorcerer…" She clasped her hands and looked up at the sky dreamily. "And he's so handsome, a real man."

"So get out," Clef replied darkly, crossing his arms. "I don't need you telling me about every single rumor about me! Be on your way! Go!"

"If you insist, Guru Clef! Ta-ta!" She swept her cape around herself and swirled, laughing and striding away confidently. But Clef had a feeling that one day they would meet again—and another feeling that that meeting would not be at all pleasant.

They gathered outside the school. Miata carried a suitcase, and strapped to her back was an oddly-shaped case that stirred Clef's curiosity. When he inquired as to what it was, though, she simply shrugged and said, "Oh, it's nothing important."

"Some kind of musical instrument?" the Guru guessed.

"It doesn't matter," Miata replied sternly. Clef shrugged and gave up.

"Well, Presea is waiting for us." He lifted his staff, and his three remaining students watched him expectantly. "_Cleft!_" he cried, and a huge, griffin-like bird took shape before them.

"Hey, that was pretty neat," commented Prism.

"I wish that I had a cool staff like him. Then I'd be cool," Lincoln sighed.

"You'll never be cool," Prism replied. Miata shook her head. They were so immature—how could she have found either of them attractive?

"Climb up," Clef told them, cutting their bickering short. They all climbed up onto the huge bird, and it took flight as soon as Miata got a grip on its fur. She let out a yelp as she watched the ground fall away from her.

Clef squeezed her shoulder. "Don't look down," he advised her. She shook him away, then concentrated on keeping her eyes shut and holding on for dear life for the rest of the flight. The landing was so gentle she barely noticed it, but she was visibly shaken as she jumped down to the ground.

"I am never, ever, _ever_, going to fly again," she said, shaking her head firmly.

"It can't have been that bad, was it?" Clef asked, trying to be helpful.

"Oh, just shut up." Miata gathered her things, looking around and realizing that they were actually inside the Forest of Silence. So, Clef was a much more powerful magician than he let on to be. Interesting.

"Why would anyone want to live in a place like this?" wondered Prism, picking up his luggage. "It gives me the creeps."

"Everything gives you the creeps," Lincoln muttered.

"The forest is constantly changing. If we want to find Presea, we must pay attention."

"What the—" Lincoln turned around to see the clearing disappear behind him.

"Come on. Don't look back," Clef told his students.

"Um…where's Miata?" wondered Prism.

All of a sudden things were shifting around her. It didn't come as much of a surprise—the forest was something of a presence in itself, and she could feel its existence humming in the back of her mind. That was one of the things Cressida had taught her to feel, and she wasn't sure she liked it—this whole thing about the presences and consciousnesses of the planet. That should be left in the hands of the pillars, not passed on to some poor girl they took in because her mother went insane and killed herself.

Miata wondered when the madness would taker her over as well. What she did know about her mother was frightening enough—a love for music, power over places where magic did not normally work—it all sounded too much like herself. And there was the one thing she fought above all else, what she was sure had driven her mother insane—

"Take me to Presea's!" she demanded of the forest, her voice frantic against the solitude.

She burst in the door to see a worried-looking Clef sitting with his head in his hands. He looked up and saw her, and relief washed over his face. He stood up, reaching out as if he wanted to hug her—but his expression changed, and he took her bags, instead.

"Miata, how did you get here? We thought you were lost!"

"I was, but I managed to find my way here," Miata replied. It wasn't quite a lie, she rationalized to herself.

"Dammit, Clef, I've had enough of this." A blond woman whom Miata assumed was Presea burst into the room. "If you're such an all-powerful sorcerer, do you think you could make me a decent lock for my door?"

"I'll take a look at it. Presea, this is my obnoxious student Miata. Miata, my old friend Presea."

"You're Miata? It's a miracle that you got here!" Presea gasped. "Clef was so worried."

"What for? I can't get lost. You can trust me on that," Miata replied. She looked to Presea. "Uh, where am I supposed to stay?"

"I'll show you. Follow me." Presea said, and started to walk. Clef and Miata followed.

"What do you mean, you can't get lost?" Clef demanded. "The Forest of Silence is—"

"I was trained by Cressida before I came to the Academy. She taught me—"

"Cressida?" Clef raised an eyebrow in incomprehension.

"The Pillar! Just yesterday you said you knew her! She just died…"

"Oh…yes, that's right…" Both Clef and Presea looked confused, which confused Miata. It wasn't natural for them to forget so quickly! They should have at least recognized the name—especially Clef, from the way he'd grieved her passing yesterday.

But then again, who was the Pillar who preceded Cressida? No one knew. How odd. She would have to ask Emeraude about this when she next saw her.

"Miata, are you listening to a word I say?" Clef shouted, jerking her train of thought off its rails. Miata looked up, her expression bland.

"No, was it important?"

Clef broiled silently for a moment, counting to ten. "I said," he told her through clenched teeth, "you're free to go anywhere in the house, but you may not go wandering about the forest, perfect sense of direction or not."

"What? Who are you to tell me what to do?" Miata frowned stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"I am, if you have had a memory lapse and forgotten, your teacher."

Miata stuck her tongue out at him. "You still can't make me."

"Oh, cute. Your maturity amazes me," Clef said, rolling his eyes. Presea, watching these actions, stifled a giggle.

"Doesn't take much," Miata muttered at the ceiling.

"What do you mean by that?" Clef shouted at her.

"Why, that it doesn't take much to amuse you, darling! Were you born on the last farm in the remotest section of Cephiro?" She giggled. "Was your mother unfaithful with the livestock?"

Presea couldn't control herself any longer. She let out a roar of laughter, and was practically rolling on the floor.

Clef, on the other hand, was red with fury. "Well, at least I know who my father is," he shot back. Miata's mood changed as soon as the words left his mouth, and Clef immediately regretted his words. Miata glared at him, too enraged to speak, and there was a moment of uncertain silence between them when neither knew what to say and do. Before Clef could apologize, Miata slapped his face, then swirled around to retreat into her room, slamming the door behind her.

Presea recovered from her fit of laugher. "Quite a girl," she said.

Clef still wasn't quite out of the daze. "I really do think she is determined to drive me insane," he said softly.

"Quite a show you two put on. I always did enjoy fireworks," Presea giggled.

"I went too far," the Guru replied.

"Don't worry too much about it. She's got spirit, she'll get over it." Presea patted Clef's back good-naturedly, but they heard muffled sobs coming from Miata's room.

"Miata—" Clef began. No answer.

"Leave her alone for a bit," Presea advised. "If she's so annoying, why are you so concerned for her?"

"I—" Clef turned a brilliant scarlet. "She's just my student, that's all! I'm only concerned for her because she is my student! I don't have any feeling for her in that way!"

Presea raised an eyebrow. "But…I never said that you did."

"Oh," Clef said. He looked away, feeling even more confused and embarrassed.

"I understand—she is a very pretty girl, if stubborn."

"But—but I don't…" Clef stammered, and Presea's eyes danced with barely concealed laughter.

"_Sure_ you don't." She had never seen the Guru so flustered, and she was going to milk as much amusement out of this situation as she could.

A small, rational voice in her head told her that she was overreacting, that Guru Clef could not have known the meaning of what he said, but she couldn't force herself to believe it. After all, not knowing her father had never hurt before—the fact that her mother was a madwoman, and that madness was bound to come out in her sometime, was enough to make her miserable. Miata cried, no longer caring if anyone heard her.

She couldn't stay here any longer.

Miata climbed out her window, clutching her suitcase and guitar, and stepped out onto thin air.

"I know I said I'd never fly again, but I think I can make an exception," she said to herself. "I trust my own instincts a lot more than that damned Guru's bird, anyway." Why did thinking of him bring more tears to her eyes? Damn him! How could he confuse her like this? It wasn't fair!

"Take me to the Palace," she told the wind. "And quickly, please."

The winds seemed to hesitate before doing as she asked of them, but when they did move it was with dizzying speed. The ground below her moved too quickly to see.

She was at the gate of the castle in moments, and it was no surprise to see that Emeraude was waiting for her. The Pillar knew everything that went on in Cephiro—it was no surprise that she had expected Miata's arrival. But what did shock Miata was what the Pillar held in her arms—a newborn baby.

"Miata, I really didn't mean what I said. I'm really sorry, I—Miata?" The door to her room was unlocked, but Clef stepped in and found it empty. All of her belongings were gone, but there was no note—no sign that she had ever even been there in the first place. Then he saw that the window was open.

"Second student I've lost this week," Clef murmured, his mind somewhat numb. "Maybe I'm cursed." He frowned. "You know, this doesn't mean I like her," Clef told the world in general, leaning out the window. "She's far too annoying and I don't miss her! I hardly even know her!"

It was only then that he realized he was only fooling himself.

"Well, Emeraude, long time no see," Miata said thoughtfully. Things were beginning to fit into place. Cressida had taught her that a Pillar could not survive childbirth. Her last words, that had been a mystery before—was this what they had referred to? Could this child be—

"What are you doing her, Miata? Cressida sent you to learn magic. You're supposed to be with Guru Clef," Emeraude admonished. "Oh no—nothing's happened to him, has it?"

"I'm sure Clef is fine. And he's better off without me," Miata replied bitterly. "Are you saying I'm no longer welcome here?"

"The Byrde is always welcome in this palace," Emeraude replied stiffly, and the baby in her arms began to fuss. Miata looked more closely at him.

"Hmm, looks familiar…the green hair certainly reminds me of someone…" Miata tapped her chin, looking up in mock forgetfulness. "Oh yes! Could it be…Cressida?"

Emeraude's eyes went wide, her voice lowered to a whisper. "Not one word on that, if you know what's good for you."

"I think you owe me an explanation. You know you can't fool me, like you have all the others. What are you Pillars up to?"

"How like a Byrde to be so prying. So like your mother," Emeraude said loftily.

"I am not my mother, Emeraude," Miata replied darkly.

"But you are a Byrde, and you should be learning magic so that you can protect the Forest of Song!"

"I will not go back to him!" Miata shouted, taking the baby by surprise and making him cry. "No one there has any idea what the hell they're doing! I'm more advanced than all of them!"

"You're right—you're not like you mother. At least Lumina had some patience."

"I have patience! Not that I'm admitting to being my mother," she amended quickly. "Please, listen to me. You're going to need some help raising Cressida's little boy there—"

"His name is Ferio," Emeraude replied. "And he is to be referred to as my brother," she added with emphasis.

"Sure, whatever. Anyway, I'll help raise him. I'll play music at those classy functions you're always holding around here. I'll study magic on my own. Just let me stay here. I can't go back."

"You Byrdes are a stubborn lot," Emeraude replied grudgingly.

"Same goes for you Pillars." Miata grinned.

"All right, it's a deal."


	3. Fear of Life and Contact

The Fear of Life and Contact

Miata watched Ferio toddling around the dance floor and smiled. The boy had just barely learned to walk, and was earning coos of adoration from all the guests. She didn't have must time to watch, though, before she was urged to continue playing.

She began a lively dance, her Byrde magic giving her guitar a range and warmth of sound that resembled an orchestra. Miata attended as many of these gatherings as she could—they provided a chance to be around people, and prove to herself she wasn't like her mother. Her mother had gone insane because she was alone—so Miata was never alone, so much as she could help it.

This was a larger festival than most—perhaps the largest in the ten years she had been at the Palace. A new head magician of Cephiro was to be named tonight, and many prestigious Cephirans were present for the ceremonies. She finished her song and looked up towards the podium, where the induction would take place, but first saw little Ferio pulling on the leg of a refreshment table. The punch bowl balanced precariously over his head—she ran forward to right it before it fell on him, but someone beat her to it.

"Thank you," she began, but froze as she recognized who she was speaking to. He also seemed to freeze, stuttering but no real words seemed to be coming out of his mouth.

"Is…he…yours?" Clef finally managed.

"Serve you right if I said yes," Miata replied. "But no, he's Emeraude's younger brother."

Guru Clef held back a sigh of relief, twisting his hands behind his back so she wouldn't see how they were shaking. "What are you doing her, Guru Clef?" she asked him.

"I'm here because Prism and Lincoln are graduating," he replied, "and I'm being promoted. Not due to my own merit, it seems, but with the way magicians are dropping like flies the position is vacant."

"Has anyone tried to kill you yet?"

"No, but that's no assurance that they won't. Especially after I take this new job, I'll make an especially easy target."

"Then why the hell did you accept it?" Her look ridiculed him, but she was too mature now to call him stupid.

"I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice," he replied defensively. "I'm the only one left who can take care of the job—everyone else is either dead or so deep in hiding there's no telling the difference. So there—what are you doing here?"

"My job." Miata shrugged. "I'm the Byrde of Cephiro, this is what I was born to do. Pay music. And look after this little brat." She looked down at Ferio. "With all the time Emeraude's stuck me looking after him, even studying with you again was starting to look favorable."

"He doesn't look that bad," Clef replied. Other than trying to pull a table over on himself, Ferio had been pretty well behaved.

"Oh, he's a good boy, I guess, but I'm not that good with children. I guess I was never cut out to be a mother."

"I think you'd make a wonderful mother," Clef replied without thinking. "Well, um, I mean, well…"

Miata laughed. "You think so?" The Guru didn't know what to say. "Well, you'd better get into place. The ceremony's starting."

She gave Ferio back to Emeraude before taking her place with her guitar. Her fingers moved unconsciously, playing a soft, brooding melody while she watched the ceremony. She assumed Clef would be staying here, now. Emeraude spoke to the Guru as if she knew him well—that was another surprise, there. Miata hated to admit it, but no matter what he said, there was more than simple availability to account for Clef's promotion to Head Magician of Cephiro.

__

The way Pillars act sometimes, you'd think they'd be planning it all along.

It was still a wonder that no one noticed Ferio's strong resemblance to Cressida—it was almost as if the former Pillar had never existed. And Emeraude was being more secretive than usual on that one topic-—s if Miata couldn't figure it out for herself. Cressida would have explained, but Emeraude did not see fit to trust the Byrde.

__

Understandable, her only prior experience with us being my mother. And only after she had…lost her mind. Miata clenched her fist in anger, trying to remind heself that she was not that crazy old woman and didn't have to be. Not ever.

__

But then…no one exactly plans upon going insane. It wasn't a very pleasant thought.

*

Though Clef now resided at the Palace, he and Miata saw little of each other. Though they occasionally exchanged words at social functions, they avoided each other much more often—and with much more success.

Miata took care of Ferio as he grew from a baby into a young man, but when he begged Emeraude to erase all his memories of her, Miata used her magic to make him forget herself as well. So he was gone, and Miata found herself becoming lonelier and lonelier. To combat this loneliness, she threw herself into the parties that Emeraude held. These parties were becoming rougher and rougher, though, as Emeraude's skills as Pillar deteriorated, and began to be regarded as quite dangerous affairs. Clef was far too ascetic to make appearances at occasions such as those, devoting himself instead to studying magic more and more deeply.

Miata accidentally came across him in the library, sitting at a table stacked with books, his head resting on his folded arms. She had walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Clef didn't move. He was asleep.

She looked at the mess of books on the table and began to straighten them into neater piles, organizing his notes into a more sensible configuration. At the time she didn't know why she did it—it wasn't until much later that she understood.

*

During Cressida's day there had never been occasions like this in the Palace, but in many ways Emeraude was an incompetent Pillar. Miata wondered if Emeraude had made everyone forget Cressida simply so they would not see how miserably she paled in comparison to her predecessor.

__

But things are always going to change, and there's not much that I can do about it. Miata just tried to stay out of the way of those who had too much to drink—or those who were simply of cruel dispositions in the first place. Miata didn't know where Emeraude found the rougher types that now populated the Palace, but things had definitely gone down from Cressida's days. Things could be much worse, though, she decided, and put up with the Pillar's new "friends".

Miata was torn out of her thinking by the sound of a table meeting its untimely demise somewhere in her vicinity, and looked up to see a familiar figure picking himself up, wobbling and clutching against the ruins of the table to try to salvage his balance.

Her jaw dropped, and she blinked repeatedly, hoping something would deny what she saw. That could not be who she thought it was.

He didn't notice that one of his robes was caught on the destroyed table, and when he tried to walk he fell over forward again. This time he didn't get up. Miata hurried over to inspect the body.

"Go away," it muttered. The voice, though slurred, was indeed that of Guru Clef.

"You're certainly making a fool out of yourself," Miata admonished.

"I'm fine. I think I'm just going to take a nap. Good night."

"Guru Clef!" She slapped his face, then held up three fingers and thrust them in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She forced him to look.

"The square root of nine," he replied drowsily. Miata looked at her hand and shrugged.

"Lucky guess," she muttered. Clef laughed. "I never thought I'd see you like this," she added.

"You never thought you'd see me again, period," Clef replied. "Does it mean so much to you? I didn't drink much."

"It doesn't take much to get a little guy like you," Miata muttered. "Especially when you're so strict. You don't have any tolerance."

"I assure you, I'm fine," Clef replied, trying to stand up.

"Look, I am not going to let you make any more of a fool of yourself than you already have. You are now the chief magician of Cephiro, who should not be drunk on his ass!"

"All the more an excuse. The pressure was killing me," Clef replied, grinning. "And right now, I don't really give a damn."

"Well, you'd better give a damn, you've got a frickin' reputation to uphold! Keep acting like this, and no one will trust you. Plus, whatever it is that's killing the magicians will be waiting to catch you with your guard down."

"Why the sudden concern?" Clef replied sarcastically. "You, Miata, expending herself for another's well being? I never thought I'd see the day."

"Miata blushed, fumbling for an answer. "Well…I just couldn't stand to watch you make a fool out of yourself. It's embarrassing."

"I appreciate your concern, but I was beginning to lose my sanity. And my guard is not down. If I were in trouble, I could still cast a spell—"

"Uh-huh. And take out half the place. Or maybe, if you're lucky, it just won't work. Or have you forgotten? Alcohol twists magic. With magic like yours, I wouldn't trust you to cast a spell for the next few days, until the alcohol is completely out of your system."

"So practice what you preach, Miata! You were certainly getting drunk while I was teaching you, and casting spells the next day!"

"Well, my magic is different," Miata replied.

"How so?"

"I can't—really—tell you," she replied hastily, wishing she hadn't mentioned the difference in their magic. Hopefully when he was sober, he would forget that she'd said anything about it…

Surprisingly, Clef didn't push her on it. "You've always had your secrets. I won't steal them from you." He grinned. "So long as you promise to let me in on them someday."

"I might," she replied, somewhat relieved. It wasn't quite a lie—there was a chance that she would be able to explain everything, that the chain would come to an end during her lifetime—

Either that, or die like her mother. She preferred the first option and tried to force the second from her mind. She was not going to turn into that crazy old woman…

__

Protect him…the Guru…Clef…

Something caught her attention. She jerked, looking around—another thing Cressida had taught her was a way to sense danger, and she could feel it thick around her now. The danger, however, was not aimed at her, but at Clef. Whatever it was that had been killing the magic users of Cephiro, it had caught Clef with his guard down, and was making arrangements for his demise. They were good, whoever they were—Miata could not discern the source. And Clef, in his current state of inebriation, was still blissfully unaware of any threat.

"Look, Clef, if you're so intent upon making a fool out of yourself, you shouldn't do it in front of people who trust you," Miata said, thinking quickly—trying to formulate a plan that would get him out of danger the fastest.

"What, haven't I done enough?" Clef replied. He giggled, and Miata grimaced.

"Well, I, for one, would like some fresh air, and I would appreciate the honor of your company," she said, getting up and walking and practically dragging him along with her.

__

If whoever it is tries to come after us, he'll come alone and I'll know who it is, Miata thought, giving murmured instructions to the bricks of the palace to inform her if anyone followed them. If necessary, she could get Clef to a safe place and deal with the threat herself. Clef might have been able to handle a challenge on a normal day, but he currently did not seem up to handling much of anything. If Miata were not dragging him along, he might have been walking into walls.

"You know, this is extremely humiliating," he said.

"Any more so than knocking over tables in a crowded room?" Miata replied. She tried to weave a trail that would be difficult to follow without making it obvious that she was in flight. They finally came to one of the many gardens of the Palace, this one unenclosed and surprisingly well-illuminated by the softly glowing rocks that lined its paths. They were intended to have a soothing effect, but Miata's every nerve was on edge. She sat down, trying to get herself calmed enough so she could at least stop shaking. She listened intently for any sign of pursuit—and slowly began to relax when she found none.

And was able to notice other things around her. Like how Clef's face no longer looked so much drunk as sleepy. The crisp air might have sobered him up a bit, but—

She nodded to herself, wondering why she hadn't noticed before. His wine had probably been drugged—and he'd been to anxious to get drunk to care enough to check. To her own surprise, though, she wanted more to berate herself for not taking care of better care of him, than to admonish him for his foolishness. But since when did the most powerful magician in Cephiro need someone to take care of him?

__

Cressida knew, she told me, Miata thought, and sighed. _I should have listened._ "You are, indeed, a fool," she told Clef. "You're being watched! Someone could have killed you!"

"I don't give a damn," Clef replied. "Death would provide me with a much-needed rest."

"Damn you! I don't care if you're drunk or not, but you must force yourself to think! I don't care if your life means nothing to you, it means something to me, Emeraude, and the rest of Cephiro! There is trouble brewing in Cephiro, Clef, and you must be one of the foremost in putting it to rights. Do you hear me? You're the best magician we have left, and we absolutely cannot afford to lose you!" _I absolutely cannot afford to lose you,_ she added silently, but did not voice this aloud. The fact that she thought it was frightening enough.

"Where do you get your information?" Clef wondered.

"That's another one of my secrets. Suffice to say that it's reliable."

"I am beginning to despair of ever understanding you, Miata," Clef sighed. "Look at us. It's like our positions have been reversed."

Miata stared at him. He was right—but she doubted that he would've made that admission if he were sober.

Perhaps she should get him drunk more often.

"I haven't changed," Miata said quickly—but knew that it was a lie.

"Yes you have—you've matured, you actually care about people other than yourself. You said you even cared about me."

"Well, of course I do! You're important to Cephiro!" Miata replied hastily. "The world depends on you, and I'm a part of that world!"

"We both know this, Miata, so I'm going to stop denying it. I'm extremely attracted to you, Miata. I think I'm in love with you."

Miata froze. "You're drunk, Clef. You shouldn't say things without thinking, you may regret them later."

"I am thinking, just like you told me to. Thinking about what's important to me." He looked to her hopefully, but she shook her head vehemently.

"This just isn't the time for this! Please, don't say that, Clef, don't…it will never work, Clef, please," she begged, struggling to hold back her tears. "I can't let you. I have to protect you…" The circle of fear played in her mind—she would become her mother, the fate she had struggled so many times to escape. Here it was, to drive her to insanity…to her death.

"Why? What do you mean?" Clef asked.

"Someone is trying to get rid of you, Clef. When…when…" as she tried to tell him that Cressida had asked her to protect him, the former Pillar's name would not come out. "I was told to protect you, and I will, Clef. I will protect you to the death, and if it comes to that I will not hesitate."

"What makes me worthy of that?" Clef cried. "I'm not—"

"Cephiro should be a land of peace, but people are being killed. Emeraude is an inferior Pillar, but no one can compare her to anyone else! And she shows up with Ferio, her supposed little brother! Am I the only one who sees how much he looks like…like…" Once again, she could not say "Cressida"—the world simply would not come out. "How little he looks like her," she let out in a heavy breath.

"You are the one who needs to calm down. There are problems, but this is no Legendary Battle—"

"Yet," Miata replied softly, her face growing pale. She hadn't realized it before, but the Legendary Battle could be right around the corner. Then another sense of impending doom assailed her, and Clef saw her stiffen. The spell she had worked on the way to the garden showed her a face, and she gasped at what she saw.

"We've been followed," she said. "I need to get you out of here."

"Who?"

"It's—it's—" The name would not come out! She could not say "Zagato", no matter how she tried. Miata tried to use her magic to bring the stones of the corridor down on the approaching attacker, but they resisted. That could only mean a power greater than hers was protecting this man.

But—the only one with that much power was Emeraude herself—

"We must go. I must get you somewhere safe—"

"No," Clef replied. "When he comes for us, we fight."

"Are you crazy? You're in no shape to fight! My magic is—"

"I will not abandon you, nor will I not let you die protecting me."

"You don't understand," Miata said. "For one thing, I do not intend to die. I am still sane—though how much longer that will last is anyone's guess. My magic is simple another expression of the power of will—"

__

Things listen to me, second only to Emeraude herself. But if Emeraude is protecting this man, I simply cannot win. I knew she was no Cressida, but this…

"Either we run together, or we fight together," Clef declared. "I will not leave you here alone."

"This fight is beyond me," Miata said softly. "You could, if you were at full strength, defeat this enemy, were he on his own. As it is, we would struggle to hold onto our lives, if there were a fight. I will protect you as best as I can. She cares for you, but if she must choose between you, she will choose to protect him. I just have to keep you alive." Memories of someone telling her about the Legendary Battle were filtering back to her, the truth not even those closest to the Pillar knew. Was it Cressida who had taught her these things—or was it her mother?

The more imminent trouble arrested this idle train of thought.

"There is a safer place we can go," Miata said. "There are…consequences, but certain provisions will be made, considering the necessity of your survival."

"What sort of consequences?"

"You'll find out. It will not make a great difference for you—"

__

Only that I must make him forget—if only I could do the same for myself—

Her most powerful magic jerked into motion.


	4. Better Left Forgotten

Better Left Forgotten

__

"You mustn't stray too far, Ruby. Nor be gone beyond sunset. There are chores to be done, and—"

"Oh, mama, look at me! Look at me!"

Miata tried to escape the horrible memory, to keep it from happening, but she was trapped. She had just been a little girl…her mother had no right…

__

Good-bye, Miata." The mother's voice was stern, and Miata knew she had to run, or face a scolding. She moved stubbornly, kicking up dust with her steps, until she came to the north edge of the Forest of Songs—the cold edge, where there was a sudden change in temperature. Inside the forest it was as warm as a pleasant autumn day—outside there was a blizzard. Miata's mother had told her to never leave the forest. There was good reason for that—no creature in the Forest of Songs could hurt a Byrde—but her curiosity was stronger than her will to be obedient, and she stepped out into the snow…

"Stop," she murmured. "Go back, you'll—"

"Miata? Wake up!" Someone was shaking her. "You obviously aren't all right, but just how not all right are you?"

"Oh." Her voice came out as little more than a whisper. "A dream—"

"What is this place?" Clef wanted to know.

"My home."

"It feels different, somehow," Clef said. "I can't place it…"

"You are in the one place in Cephiro where the Pillar holds no sway," Miata explained. "Her prayers do not affect this place."

"I never knew such a place existed," Clef replied.

"And that's something you shouldn't know, but you must. For now, at least."

"I don't understand any of this."

"That's because you're drunk. And drugged." Miata looked up at one of the trees that towered over them. "Would you—no, don't say that, I'm sorry. I just had to leave the forest or I'd go crazy." She looked apologetically at Clef. "Plants. Always rooted in one place, they don't understand a person's need to move around. Either that or they become jealous. That oak over there has a particularly nasty streak."

"What are you talking about?" Clef asked, knowing it was more that simple inebriation that caused his swimming head. This was all too strange! One moment they had been in the palace courtyard, the next in this unfamiliar forest—

And Miata was acting as if nothing strange had happened. And talking to plants! It all gave him a headache.

"It's—it's the way of this place," Miata said softly. "The Forest of Songs, for centuries the domain of the Byrde. Most of these trees are thousands of years old, and more intelligent than most people."

"Well, after that, I guess they're entitled to it, eh?" Clef tried to smile, but he still felt as if he were sick. "So, we're safe here?"

"No one can enter here without me knowing and allowing them to do so. I am sure of this. We are safe."

"That's right," Clef sighed, his voice sleepy. "That's what this place is like. It just—it feels like you."

Miata blushed, taken by surprise. "I—what do you mean?"

"I mean, it has the same sort of…I don't know. It feels the way you do. I can't put words to it."

"You're a drunken idiot," Miata replied, turning her back on him.

"No use arguing with you," Clef sighed. "You always have your way."

"Only when I am right!" Miata defended herself, looking back at him. "You're sleepy and you're drunk. You cannot be trusted to say reliable things!"

"Maybe not." Clef was smiling, which confused Miata even further. "You would not argue if you were not right."

"Clef, I—" She stopped herself abruptly. "It'll never work out. I—I really am sorry. You need to get some rest."

"You should get some sleep as well," Clef replied. Miata laughed.

"I don't think I can sleep tonight," she told him. Clef tried to protest, but she cut him off. "No. You will sleep. I'll be fine, and so will you." She turned to look sharply at the stately maple she had spoken to earlier. "Keep an eye on him!"

Then, all of a sudden, she was gone.

The water was so still it could have been ice; one would have taken it for such, as it was surrounded by snow.

Miata knew it was not frozen, but she still felt odd as she dove in. Her clothes lay folded on the shore of the lake, protected from the driving snow by a simple spell she'd placed on them. She didn't need to worry about wild animals—nothing was alive so far north as she was.

__

Except for me. The water was warm—it was intended as a bath, to cleanse those who wished to approach what was on the other side. And also a test—but that test Miata has passed many years ago. She shivered at the memory.

__

I'm lucky to be alive. But she could not dwell on that now; rather, she swam quickly for the opposite bank. Finally she reached it, and as she raised out of the water, it cloaked her in shining fabric—

And she yelped as she saw her reflection. She wore the Byrde's dress—her mother might not have been the only one to wear it, she tried to rationalize herself. But to see herself in the red dress that her mother had always worn—the resemblance was jarring, as if she looked at her mother across many years.

__

"I only wanted you to be happy—Ruby."

It was her imagination—the powers around the Cathedral made strange things happen. She had only been there once before, but the memory—

__

NO! It was all a long time ago—things were not the same…

She laid her hands gently on the Cathedral doors, and they swung open with eerie silence. There was no way human hands could move those doors—they looked like blocks of carved jade, twice as tall as she was and at least a foot thick. The design was of three women on one door, the three Mashin on the other. The Magic Knights, the Legendary Battle which was to come all too soon—

And yet, not soon enough.

It was hard to believe anyone could have actually lived in the awesome structure, the Crystalline Cathedral of the Pillars. The building was so awe-inspiring she didn't understand how it could have been designed for everyday use. But this was the place where the pillars were born—as much as one could say that they were born. It was also where her long-dead ancestor had lived, a renegade priestess who set up her own fortress, the Forest of Songs, to protect the Cathedral. She did this rather than give up her own life and individuality to become a part of the structure and guide one Pillar for the good of all of Cephiro. But her loneliness had been her downfall, the first of the line of Byrde. Loneliness was the destiny of all who followed, until the Legendary Battle—

And the Return. When a child born of both Pillar blood and human would come to the Cathedral and put a permanent end to the age of the Pillars. Only this part of the Legend had been completely forgotten, except to the Pillars themselves—and the Byrdes. They could forget nothing.

No matter how much they might like to…

__

There had always been mischief in Aurora's dark eyes. She was the youngest ever to be named a priestess of the Crystalline Cathedral—and many regretted her induction. They only saw the flirtatious prankster she appeared to be on the outside, rather than the mature woman within. She looked like a child, but within her was a too-mature soul, the result of a childhood much too cruel that forced one to grow up quickly—or be destroyed.

So was it any wonder that she tried to make up for that lost childhood? Others did not see it as such, though, and they made their disapprobation known. She was irresponsible, they said, not trustworthy. Aurora paid little attention to their criticism, or at least it seemed that way. No one's opinion had any effect on her.

Not outwardly, anyway.

But some arguments were valid—people came more and more to the Cathedral, their desires more and more selfish. They began to depend on the Cathedral, rather than solving their problems for themselves, and the Priests and Priestesses became overworked. They needed all the help they could get—and Aurora's appearances were… sporadic, to say the least.

Her argument? "If it were important, I'd be there!" Which was true. When someone came with an important problem only a Priest or Priestess could solve, she would do anything in her power to be there. But when the problem did not meet her standards of "important", Aurora was nowhere to be found. At first, she was glad to hear the Cathedral was going to do something about the problem.

Then she found out what was going to be done.

Aurora was skipping another session, trying to decide what she would do. She could not give up her life now—it had been too short, too sad! She would not join the others in their plan to become one with the Cathedral itself, and their creation of one leader—they called this theoretical person a "Pillar"—was destined to fail. When she had pointed this out though, she was told that the system would fail when the people were ready to go back to the old ways, when people could take care of themselves and the Priests and Priestesses of the Cathedral provided only minimal support. Aurora complained that no one would be able to kill a pillar in the system they had planned—but they had replied that the magic of the Cathedral was powerful enough to summon three people from another world to take care of that job. Aurora was disgusted--she refused to take part in the construction of the Mashin, and she cried when the new jade doors were unveiled.

Aurora knew that over the years of being a Priestess of the Cathedral, she would slowly lose her humanity—everything but devotion to the Cathedral and the people of Cephiro was eventually lost. However, she was not only the youngest Priestess, but also the newest—making her the most human. The two Priestesses who had been inducted before her, Cressida and Emeraude, also had doubts about becoming a part of this new system, but they finally chose to become part of the system. Aurora was the only one who held out.

The Pillar would have to bear the spirit of a Priest or Priestess, who would have no memory of their former life during their term as Pillar. They assumed that the end of the Age of the Pillars would come soon, that people would learn to take care of themselves within a few centuries. Then the Cathedral would be awakened.

Aurora still didn't like it. She knew there must be a better way, something else that she could do.

Miata blinked. She had known the Cathedral could do strange things, bring about strange visions—but that was like she'd just spent weeks in another person's body! And now she was blinking again—

__

Aurora stood before the High Council, the smile on her face triumphant. She had her solution—to not become a part of the Cathedral, but rather to protect it, until the end of the Age of Pillars. She could still bear children, which the Pillars could not—and she promised that her children, and their children after them, would guard the Cathedral as long as need be. They would also be able to test those who would approach the Cathedral to determine their worthiness.

When she left the Cathedral, trees sprouted beneath her feet. The land where she walked was attuned to her, and only her—it was a part of Cephiro only in name, for even the new Pillar created by the Cathedral could not enter the Forest of Songs without Aurora's permission. She bid her friends good-bye, and watched the age of the Pillars begin—

But she never, in her long life, found love. It was not until she grew old that she gave birth to a daughter, but it was too late. Loneliness drove her sanity out of her grasp, and Aurora died alone.

"The price of clinging to one's own selfish desires at the expense of the world," the walls seemed to whisper all around her.

"So why should her descendants be punished in the same way?" Miata demanded. Her cry echoed on the glass-smooth walls.

"She promised her children her same fate." The voice of the Cathedral was many voices speaking at once, ringing with the crystal of its walls. It was both musical and discordant—it made her want to tune it, somehow.

"Why must everyone in connection with this place be doomed to a life alone?" Miata demanded. "The Pillars, the Byrde—"

"Only in total isolation can a Pillar truly pray for the entire world," the Cathedral replied. "But you know that this time is coming to an end. Soon Emeraude will summon the Magic Knights, and end the Age of the Pillars. And the Cathedral shall Awaken."

"But what will it do to Cephiro? Already, the weakening of the Pillar's power is causing trouble. This land is no longer peaceful. How long will it be until it is turned into a living hell?"

"The people are strong, now. They will survive."

"But at what cost? Is there no better way?" She shook her head, disgusted. "I see why Aurora had so little to do with you."

"Do as she promised, so long ago, and you will be rewarded." The Cathedral buzzed with many individual voices, a low whine that hurt Miata's ears.

"With what? What do you consider important? Maybe you were individuals once, but you're not anymore—you're just some—some _thing_, the kind of thing that counts people as numbers, the kind that has no feeling beyond the 'greater good'—no prize can repay what you owe me, what you owe to all those who went before me." She spat on the perfect crystal floor.

"It will still be there for you to claim, when you need it."

Miata changed the subject. "And Guru Clef. What about him?"

"That is not for us to say," the Cathedral replied, with no emotion. Of course there were no feelings left in the structure. "You must speak to Emeraude about his fate."

The mention of Emeraude made her realize there were now two conflicting images of the Pillar in her head—the girl she had grown up beside while training with Cressida, and a young woman, a friend, who was torn between staying with her and going to the Cathedral. Cressida was a similarly split image—

"Emeraude—you mean—" gasped Miata.

"We have each taken our turn as Pillar," the voices of the Cathedral explained. "She was the youngest, and now, she is the last. And she was the least of the—"

"The least what? The least brainwashed into your scheme? That's why she's fallen in love! And Cressida—she loved Ferio's father, I know she did!"

"She has no memory of her first life. No Pillars do during their lifetime—they only know where we are to be found."

"My friends…" Miata's fists were clenched, though she didn't know—there was no one tangibly available to punch.

"She is Aurora all over again." This was only a single voice, rather than the many that composed the Cathedral's voice.

"I'm not Aurora, I'm Miata!" she cried.

"Indeed you are." This was another voice, a familiar one. The speaker took form before her—still somewhat transparent, but solid enough that Miata felt more comfortable in being able to talk to _someone_, rather than just the air.

But that form—

"It really is me, Miata," Cressida said. "And you are really you, though you were Aurora at one time."

"I…I don't understand…" Miata replied.

"We change a great deal when reborn—I can never be the same Cressida that you were friends with as Aurora. But yet, the friendship remained, despite the many changes—at least, I believe it did."

"You were my only friend in the world, and you abandoned me," Miata accused.

"You never were one for attracting many friends," Cressida replied. "More for getting into trouble."

"Cressida, I never told you—your son—"

"Yes…Ferio…" Cressida got a sad look in her eyes. "Emeraude tells me about him. He asked her to erase all his memories of her."

Miata looked away. "Yes…he didn't want to be a burden. He's been gone for some time, now."

"I'm sure he's grown up strong. Maybe he has become a swordsman…like his father."

"Who was his father?" Miata asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Cressida smiled mysteriously.

"I will not tell you," she said. "Instead, I ask you—how is Guru Clef?"

Miata felt her face grow hot. "He's inside the Forest of Songs. I had to take him there," she added quickly and apologetically, "to save his life. There were no other options."

"There's no problem. He must be protected, to train the Magic Knights. And you, Miata, must teach him."

"Me? But how am I supposed to know what he has to do? You never taught me—"

"No, I didn't teach you that. But someone else did, and if you look far enough back in your memory, you'll find the answer."

Miata closed her eyes, reaching back into her memory. All of a sudden, all the thoughts that had been settling in her mind's waters were swirling up to the surface. 

__

My mother…

Mother abandoned me! So did Cressida!

I don't have anyone!

The first voice to confront her within her mind was that of her mother…

__ ****

*Come back soon, my Ruby*

She was singing—and then she—I thought the rope was for a swing—

Then there was Cressida's voice…

__ ****

—Protect him…the Guru…Clef—

She left me, too—no one can ever stay with me—

Each hurt her, but the third blow cut her even more deeply, as she struggled to deny it.

__ ****

~We both know this~

NO!

****

~I'm going to stop denying it~

NO!

****

~I think I'm in love with you…~

MOTHER! What can I do?

****

*You should know by now.*

But…I can't…


	5. How Can I Forget You?

How can I forget you?

"I think it would be better if I were as far away from Clef as possible," Miata said glumly.

"You dislike him so much? Or no—" Cressida said, a flash of insight crossing her face, "—it's just the opposite."

"I don't—" Miata began, but Cressida looked at her in a way that let her know that the former Pillar would not believe a word of it. She took a deep breath and began again. "I know that any relationship I might have with him is doomed," she said. "Until the Legendary Battle, he must forget everything that happens in the Forest of Song. He told me—he said he cared for me, too, damn him!" She wiped away a tear, and Cressida embraced her, feeling rather solid despite her spectral appearance.

"There were times," Cressida said softly, "that I just wanted to cry and ask 'why me?' I didn't have anyone's shoulder to cry on, though. I was not the one who would bring the Legendary Battle—I still did my duties as Pillar, though not as well as I could have…it is impossible to stand alone, unless you have no feelings at all. I couldn't, and I died. I know I'll see him again, but—"

"I'm sorry," Miata replied. "All my life, I've tried to run away from loneliness. My mother was alone, and she—" The memory of coming home after the last time she had been to the Cathedral came to her mind again, and she pushed it hastily away. "And I swore that I would not be like her. Now it seems that I cannot escape it."

Cressida smiled. "But don't you see? You're not alone." And before Miata could get an explanation from her, the former Pillar vanished. The Byrde left the Cathedral.

It was dawn now, the sun rising on the eastern horizon, dying the sky red and pink. Miata was too preoccupied to enjoy the beauty of the sunrise, though, as she hurried back to where she left Clef.

*

"You said once that I did not know what it was like to have a hangover," he greeted her. "Now I can say that I have learned."

"I don't care," Miata snapped, her voice wavering.

"You don't look good," Clef noted. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I feel about as good as death's leftovers," she replied acidly.

"I knew you needed to get some rest," Clef said. "You should get some sleep." Miata stared at him. "Now, Miata."

"My old teacher-Guru Clef is back," Miata replied dryly. "Just in time to regret his actions of last night. And words," she added, stifling a yawn.

"'Regrets are worth nothing; apologies, little,'" he quoted some source Miata did not recognize. "Sleep is worth much, and you need it. What have you been up to all night?"

"I'll tell you later, but now I think I should take your advice and take a nap."

"Good. When you wake up, we can talk about how we're going to get back."

Miata yawned. "We're not going back."

"What?!"

Miata didn't reply, already fast asleep. Clef looked down at her with a sigh.

__

Things have become so confusing, he thought unhappily. _She says she will explain, but I don't think that even she knows everything about it. Certainly not as much as she thinks she does._

But there seems to be more to her than she will ever tell anyone, especially **me**. He might have left her then, but he had no idea where he was, or where he could go. Even if he did, though, he didn't want to leave.

__

It's not just that I am attracted to her, I really do think I love her. And she's as much as admitted that she has feelings for me as well, though she tries to hide it. She doesn't want to admit it--why? What is she so afraid of? Why can't we simply be happy together? It was mind-boggling for even the chief magician of Cephiro, especially when he was already burdened with a killer headache. He could now understand how Miata had been so reluctant to get up when she had a hangover, and cursed himself for his stupidity of last night.

__

I do not regret what I said, though, he told himself firmly. _Not one word of it!_

*

She dreamt she was the second Byrde, Aurora's daughter Cetera. The first to leave the forest and become a minstrel at the Palace of Cephiro. She saw an ill-fated love affair flare and dwindle, leaving Cetera alone to die, leaving behind a child to take on her duties. And then Miata was a captive audience to that poor girl's life, and the next Byrde, and the next, and so on until—

__

Lumina swore she would not share her mother's fate. She left the forest and became friends with the young pillar Cressida, and for much of her life did not know the loneliness the other Byrdes had experienced. But then Cressida fell in love, and trusted Lumina with such a dangerous secret—this was shortly after Lumina's daughter was born, the result of a one-night fling with a man whose name was not important—and Lumina could not stand it. She soon returned to the forest with her daughter, and tried to be satisfied with her company…but her sanity had always been slightly lacking.

Miata had found her mother hanging from the branch of a tree. There had been a swing there once, but Miata had broken it the day before; her mother sent her away while she fixed it, and she had gone north of the forest. She had heard her mother singing cheerfully when she left, but when she returned—

"No, please, I don't want to see—" she murmured, and Clef saw Miata stirring. He shook her, and her eyes snapped open. She clung to him, crying.

"Miata…" Clef began, not certain what he should say.

"Don't let me die alone," she whispered, her head buried in his shoulder. "Please—you can't—"

"I won't," Clef replied. "I promise."

"Only you will," Miata moaned. "Fate will drag you away from me…"

"I will never leave you. Last night you said you would protect me. Well, I swear that I will protect you, too."

"I don't need protection," Miata whispered. "Only…just…to be loved. To not have to be alone. She told me I was not alone," she continued, though Clef had no idea who the "she" Miata referred to was, "did she mean you?"

"I…I guess I don't know, really. Who told you?"

"Cressida," Miata replied. In her Forest of Songs, she had no trouble saying it.

"But Cressida is dead," Clef replied, sounding confused. Miata gasped. Until now, Clef had forgotten Cressida had existed—but now, outside of Emeraude's power, he remembered.

"Cressida is dead," Miata replied softly, and went on to explain where she had gone and what had occurred. She shivered as she related her flashback of Aurora—it seemed as if she really had been the Priestess, and she felt the pain and loss just as vividly as if the memories were her own. The dreams of other Byrdes had given her a similar feeling, leaving her feeling drained enough for several lifetimes. Such sleep was not exactly restful.

"Oh, Miata," Clef said softly, his lips brushing gently across her hair. Miata still felt a bit odd about Clef's treating her so gently, but it wasn't at all a bad feeling. He'd promised not to leave her enough times that she'd finally begun to believe it. Cressida had told her that she was not alone. Did that mean that her fate really was different from her predecessors?

"It's strange," she said quietly, "but my whole life, all I wanted was not to end up like my mother. How was I to know that she had wished for the very same thing? And her mother, and then her mother before her—"

"Shh," Clef replied. "Dwelling on it isn't doing you any good. You are different from all of the others."

"No, don't you see? I'm the same! We're all the same!" By now she was out of tears, shaking her head while her voice broke with sadness.

"No, you are not the same. I love you."

Miata couldn't look at him. "Oh, Clef…"

The Guru pulled her face up gently, forcing her to look up at him. "I love you," he repeated firmly. "Nothing could make me leave you. Nothing. All I want is to be with you, no matter what else happens."

"Clef, I can't—I mean, I—oh, I cannot!" Miata burst out.

"What's wrong?"

"You have to forget everything." Miata spoke quietly and evenly, trying desperately to control her voice. "Everything that happens here in the Forest of Song. You must not even know that this place exists, and even what I teach you here will be locked away until you have need for it."

"You can't!" Clef replied. "Why do you say you must do that to me?"

"It is for your own safety, and also because you now know of the Cathedral," Miata replied. "Your memory will be returned to you after the Legendary Battle, but by then, you will care little for me—"

"I wouldn't!" Clef protested. "You can't expect me to forget everything."

"I can make you forget," Miata replied. "I must, and I will."

"But you will make me remember again, eventually?" Clef asked, his voice softer.

"Yes. But it may be centuries from now—"

"You can't make me forget that I love you…can you?"

"I can," Miata replied firmly, "and I will. If something happens to me, you—"

"You won't," Clef said. "I can't let you. I won't!"

"Oh? I could make you forget your own name if I wanted to. In the Forest of Song, I have all the power of a Pillar."

Clef looked for a moment as if her were going to argue, but he shut his mouth. "How long do we have, then?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," Miata replied, looking up at him. "Months, at the very least. Perhaps many years."

"Then we have time." Clef smiled. "Last night you told me that I was making a fool of myself. It occurred to me that you're the only woman that I want to make a fool of myself with."

Hearing that out of Guru Clef made Miata's jaw drop. She shut her mouth quickly and waited a moment before speaking. "Not now," she said. "I need to get some real sleep, some restful sleep."

Was it her imagination, or did Clef look slightly disappointed?

"Yes, I suppose you've not had your fair share of that," he sighed. "I can even spell you so that you won't dream, if you would like."

"I would appreciate that," Miata replied. "Thank you."

"You are quite welcome, Ruby."

Miata's eyes widened. "What?" she asked feebly. "Why did you call me Ruby?"

"Because—oh, you're like a precious gem, and your hair is such a lovely red."

"My mother…she always called me Ruby," Miata murmured, unable to keep her eyes open. "When I was little. And I hated it, especially after she…" she drifted off. "I hate the color red, but it seems to be my doom."

"Excuse me?"

"The dress of the Byrde has always been red. My hair is red. I hate the color."

"Why don't you change?"

"I could just as well try to change the color of my skin," Miata sighed. "It's not worth the thought I'm putting into it."

"I love you for who you are, Miata," Clef replied. "If this is who you are, you must accept yourself."

"You don't understand—" Miata began, but she sighed and cut the thought off, smiling. "But then, you are only a man. Just a man after all." She yawned. "I love you, Clef," she whispered.

"I know."

"But you haven't kissed me. I want you to kiss me." She tilted her face up at him, waiting. Awkwardly, Clef leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

"You've never kissed anyone before, have you?" Miata asked, looking at him skeptically out of one open eye. Clef blushed.

"Well…no. Not unless you count my mother."

"You kiss like I was your mother." Miata seized his face between her hands, forcing his mouth open with hers as she pulled him down to her. Clef's eyes went wide with shock at first, but slowly closed as he relaxed. When he opened them again, Miata's eyes were closed, her breathing soft and even. He sighed and tried to arrange her into a more comfortable position, and he cast a spell on her to ensure dreamless sleep. Then he lay down beside her, draping his cloak around them both. Miata sighed contentedly in her sleep and snuggled against him, but Clef could not find sleep for a long time.

*

"I know you're in there!" Clef woke with a start, hearing the curt voice. "I demand to know the meaning of this at once!"

"Damn." Beside him, Miata yawned. "She's here already," she murmured groggily. "If you'll excuse me, Clef, I must go teach her a lesson for ruining what could have been a very nice morning."

"Huh? Who's here?"

"Emeraude. I suppose she deserves some sort of acknowledgment."

"The Pillar of Cephiro, and you just 'suppose she deserves some sort of acknowledgment.'"

"She's not the Pillar here," Miata replied, and she kissed him gently. "No need for you to get up. I can take care of this myself."

"Why is she here?"

"I've stolen her best magician," Miata replied. "But I won't give him up." Clef smiled and kissed her face repeatedly, trying to pull her back to him, but Miata rolled away and stood. "I'll be back as quickly as I can," she told him, stretching. She walked away, leaving Clef to examine his surroundings.

The trees surrounding the clearing seemed to be bending in around it, as if trying to form a roof. Branches twisted into forms that looked like the beginnings of furniture, and even the place where he had slept had grown higher and softer, well on its way to becoming a bed. It was magic, to be sure—but a sort of magic that he'd never encountered.

__

Or maybe I have, he realized. _Simply nature bending itself to the will of one—even when she isn't doing it consciously. Isn't that what the Pillar system is? How can it be fair, that everything depends on the will of one person? When something happens to them—like the first thunderstorm in Cephiro, it must have been the night that Ferio was conceived. Too preoccupied to pray for Cephiro—_

But Miata doesn't have to pray. Oh, Miata…He sighed, leaning back into the grass that behaved uncannily like a mattress. _I've only just found you…why will I have to forget you?_


	6. The Destruction that is Love

The destruction that is love

Miata grumbled to herself as she headed for the edge of the forest. She knew that Emeraude would have to come eventually, but her timing left much to be desired. She just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, then get back to Clef and—

__

Oh, Miata, what a shameless fool you are! This is important, she told herself. After all, this meeting would give her an idea of how much—or how little—time she had left, and she would have to teach him…

"You went to the Cathedral," Emeraude accused the moment that Miata came into view. Miata shrugged.

"I have the right," she said. "Or do you deny that?"

"I—" the Pillar began, but no more words came out. Her mouth snapped shut. "It is your right," she said through clenched teeth. "But you have stolen my very best magician."

"I have taken him to the only place where he will be safe. I know as well as you that the Legendary Battle is coming, and—"

"There is time," Emeraude interrupted stubbornly.

"There has been an attack on his life—in your castle, Princess," Miata replied. "And you know who attacked him, and would not have stopped him. Time is much shorter than you think."

"Miata—you understand, don't you? How this time has to come to an end." Emeraude's tone had become sad and pleading. "We are more alike than I once thought. We both carry the burden of generations of loneliness—"

"That's no excuse for the destruction of the world!"

"What use have you for Cephiro? The Forest of Song will remain untouched by the Legendary Battle. Would you give up Clef to save a world you don't have to live in?" Miata drew in her breath indignantly, but Emeraude went on. "I've seen the way he looks at you! At least I have managed to hide my emotions. The whole court is discussing your elopement, Miata. Elopement." The Pillar looked as if she might abandon dignity and spit on the ground.

"I will keep him here." Miata crossed her arms, staring levelly at Emeraude. "If you have forgotten the Legend, let me remind you; for the Magic Knights to learn magic, the one destined to teach them had better be a live. And he'd better be around to guide them, or Cephiro is truly doomed."

"I know that," Emeraude said. "I know that you must teach him, when the time for the Legendary Battle comes. But there is still plenty of time, and he is needed at my court. There are also rumors that you have not eloped, but Clef is dead, killed by you. The most powerful magician—the _last_ great magician—in Cephiro gone, and the people lose faith in me."

"He is staying with me." Miata's icy glare matched the chill of her voice. "Explain it to your people how you will—Clef remains her with me."

"But—I can keep it from happening for so much longer, Miata…"

"How long? You are the product of a system that is failing. Cressida died so that her love would not destroy our world. You—"

"Cressida died because no Pillar can survive childbirth!" Emeraude burst out angrily. "And if she hadn't, she would have brought about the Legendary Battle, instead of me. You hold Cressida up so high, but if she was so perfect, why did she fall in love? Why did she let herself bear a son, when she knew that it would kill her? Why—why did she have to abandon me so soon?" Her anger had turned to sadness, and tears flowed from her eyes.

"Her voice still speaks through the Cathedral," Miata said softly.

"I wasn't ready for this. It isn't fair! Do you think I don't know what will become of me? I know damn well where this leads! And it isn't fair!"

"That's why the system must end. That is why Ferio was born."

Miata could remember a time when Emeraude and she had been as close as sisters—two times, in fact, but both had seemed equally lost into the mists of time. But now that Emeraude was showing her fear and sadness, rather than hiding it behind the aloof Pillar facade, a kinship between the two of them was returning.

"But you will return," Miata said.

"I only want to be where he is," Emeraude replied simply, her voice dull. "That's all I want."

Miata simply stared back at the Pillar, wishing the words did not strike so deep a chord with her own feelings.

*

"Miata?"

Clef found the Byrde and the Pillar at the edge of the forest, but though he had watched for some time they had not noticed his presence.

"Guru Clef, Chief Magician of Cephiro." Emeraude addressed him formally, even though Clef's appearance wasn't particularly formal. He wore a large, untucked white shirt and dark pants that were intended to be tucked into the top of his boots, but when they were not they dragged on the ground, and were already stained and dirty at the edge.

"Princess Emeraude," he replied, bowing.

"So, Miata is to be your teacher," the Pillar said. "As you are here with us, we can on longer keep it secret from you that I am in love, and eventually I will bring about the Legendary Battle."

Clef froze, his expression that of a man stricken with horror. To his surprise, Miata reached out and squeezed his hand. He noticed Emeraude eyeing the motion with envy and sadness, and Clef knew what she must feel. Clef and Miata could find temporary sanctuary in the Forest of Songs, but the Pillar of Cephiro could not even have that.

"The Legendary Battle…" Clef said softly.

"You are destined to give magic to the Magic Knights," Emeraude said. "To guide them. Miata will teach you how to do this."

"To help them kill you? I—"

"It must be this way," Emeraude insisted. "For Cephiro."

Clef nodded reluctantly. "I see."

"Miata, I will leave you with him, now," the Pillar said. "You will know when the time comes. I envy you."

Emeraude turned and walked away, fading with each step, until she had vanished.

"The Legendary Battle…I have to help the Magic Knights to kill the Pillar?"

"You knew it had to happen, eventually." Miata began walking.

"Where are you going?" Clef asked, following her.

"I haven't bathed in two days," she replied. "I'm going to do so now, if you don't mind."

"I—I guess," Clef replied, realizing that he felt rather grubby, too. "Where?"

"There's a spring in the forest for just that purpose," Miata replied. "I'll show you."

They continued walking, following a stream that wove through the forest. Clef could hear something. "Is that a waterfall?"

Miata nodded. "You should see it. It's one of the few things I like about this place—it's beautiful."

Clef's breath was suitably taken away by the sight. The water was crystal clear, reflecting the morning sunlight into his eyes. A waterfall cascaded off an overhang of about five feet or so into a small pond with few weeds. Miata had begun to strip, and Clef averted his eyes, blushing. She laughed.

"What's funny?" he asked, not looking at her.

"You," she replied. "If it makes you feel better, I'll leave this on." She was wearing a white slip which, though sheer, covered up enough of her that Clef could look at her, though he still blushed. Miata stepped into the water, but Clef just stood on the bank, not sure what he wanted to do.

"Why does Emeraude have to be killed?" he asked.

Miata ducked underwater and came up, shaking out her hair. "So her love does not bring about the complete destruction of Cephiro," she replied. "If she devotes herself to one person, she cannot properly pray for Cephiro, and the world will fall apart."

"But if she is killed…"

"The people of Cephiro are strong enough to survive without a Pillar, now. When she is killed, her soul will go back to the Cathedral, and wait for the Return."

"What is the Return?"

"When a child born of both Pillar and human blood reopens the Crystalline Cathedral for everyone, and the Priests and Priestesses are returned to life."

"The Priests and Priestesses—the Pillars?"

Miata nodded. "Yeah, their souls are the same. Just like I am part Aurora."

"I don't like to think of you as being someone else," Clef replied uncomfortably. "You're just Miata, that's enough for me."

"I am Miata. My soul was at one time Aurora, but now I am Miata. Are you coming in?"

"Well, I…um…" Clef stammered, trying to buy time.

"Nobody's watching," Miata said. "The forest just belongs to you and me, now. And the water's plenty warm enough."

Clef shrugged and stepped gingerly into the water, while Miata watched him thoughtfully. "I guess the water's pretty warm," he said.

"You can't even take off your shirt in front of me?" Miata wondered teasingly.

"Sheesh, Miata, I—" Clef removed his shirt, tossing it onto the bank. "—There," he said. "Happy?"

"Sure," Miata replied. "You've gone all rigid again, but I should have expected it. Welcome back, _Guru _Clef, Chief Magician of Cephiro." She saluted him and ducked underwater again.

Clef strode deeper into the water, until it was at his waist. "Miata—"

"Yes?" she replied, springing up in front of him.

"Maybe…maybe I should come back and bathe later…" he stammered. Miata frowned and splashed him mercilessly.

"Oh, no you don't," she said. "We don't know how much time we have left here, and I'm not going to let you waste it being all uptight. There's no one here to care what you do, Clef. Just me. The trees aren't going to tell anyone."

Clef hesitated—then began splashing back at her. "Weren't you talking to the trees?" he accused.

"Never mind that," Miata replied. She turned and headed for deeper water, and Clef followed.

"Oh, so you can swim, after all," Miata said.

"Of course I can swim!" Clef replied.

"Good for you." Miata continued swimming away from him—towards the waterfall. She went under one last time and did not surface.

"Miata?"

"Hello," she replied, her voice soft and distant. 

"Where are you?"

"Back here." Clef finally realized that she was speaking from behind the waterfall, and he ducked under it, to find a tiny cave carved out under the overhang from which the waterfall plummeted. Miata, curled up in a corner of the cave, reached out towards him.

"Is this place safe?" Clef wondered. Hearing so much water rushing over his head didn't make him feel very secure.

"It's safe," Miata replied. "The ceiling won't cave in on us. It's been here almost as long as the forest, and there's magic to keep it from falling."

"You're sure?"

"I—oh, Clef, there's no need to be so paranoid!" Miata said. She crawled from the back of the cave to where it met the water, where Clef still waited uncomfortably. Her hair dripped beads of water onto the mossy floor of the cave. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, her face inches away from his.

"Oh, I don't know, it just seems so—awkward—"

Miata laughed softly. "Clef, there's no one here to care what we do, no one to spread rumors, no one to separate us. We love each other, and I don't know how much time we have. Here, we can do anything that we want."

Clef pulled himself out of the water onto the ledge beside her. "Miata, I—Miata—" He looked aside sadly. "How can you expect me to forget you? I don't want to forget you, please, I—" He was cut off as Miata kissed his lips, pressing him down to the floor of the small cave, and he soon lost the will to protest. She finally pulled her face away from his, looking down at him as water still dripped from her hair onto him, and smiled.

"You were saying something?" she asked softly.

Clef shook his head and wove his fingers through her hair, pulling her face back down to his.

*


	7. Of No Particular Time or Place

Of No Particular Time or Place

Of no particular time or place

It was rather dark beneath the waterfall, but their eyes had grown used to it, as their ears were used to the sound of the water rushing over them. It had become a sort of haven, where they could forget that the outside world existed. The time did not matter. 

"I suppose you know the whole story of this Legend, then?" Clef asked softly out of nowhere. 

Miata nodded. "You want to hear it?"

"If you don't mind," he said. Miata laughed quietly.

"All right, let's see...where to begin? I suppose I can tell you what was told to me when I was Aurora..."

"I don't want to think of you that way," Clef said stubbornly. "I don't want to give any part of you to this long-dead Priestess."

"The part of me that is 'this long-dead Priestess' is just the same as the rest of me," Miata replied. "But may I get on with the story?"

"I guess so," Clef replied.

"All right. You know that everyone was to take their turn as Pillar, and that Emeraude, as the lowest ranking Priestess, would go last. The magic of the Cathedral was prepared to give her enough strength to summon three people from another world to kill her, because no one who was a part of her world would be capable of doing it. They also built the Mashin at that time, to help the Magic Knights accomplish their purpose."

"Most of that I already knew," Clef said. "Emeraude must be killed because she has fallen in love and cannot protect her people. So why can't we get it over with now? You said that after the Legendary Battle, I could be with you..."

"Just because she is in love doesn't mean that she is a threat to our world-yet. When she does fall, you will know. Fears will turn the land into a dangerous place. The people of our world will be tested for their strength. That's a part of the legend I always hated."

"You, or Aurora?"

Miata winced. "Aurora," she whispered.

Clef sighed. "I guess I'll have to learn to live with that," he said. "And after Emeraude is dead...?"

"The Magic Knights will be summoned again, and I will test them, as well as any other who enters this forest," Miata replied. "That is what I have been destined to do-the reason for the Byrdes, if you will. We are to make sure of the worthiness of those who try to seek the Cathedral."

"And for this you have all been alone?"

Miata smiled. "Not all of us," she said. "Not anymore."

"Yes, but you must be outnumbered by all those who came before you-oh, damn, I should have thought of it sooner."

"Thought of what?" Miata wondered. Clef wasn't sure how he could put it delicately.

"That you could be...um...well, I mean, we could've...I could've...you might be, um..."

"That I could be pregnant?" Miata replied with no attempt at delicacy. "Is that what you're trying to squeak out?"

"Um...yeah," Clef replied, blushing.

"I doubt it," Miata said. "Why? Do you want children?"

"I don't know," Clef sighed. "What do you want?"

"We don't know how long we have," Miata said, "and when you have to leave me, I don't want you to leave behind a kid, too. And besides, I'm much too selfish. I don't want to have to share you with some little brat."

"You're right. And you're sure you're not-"

"I'm sure," Miata said. "And I won't let myself be—I can do that, with magic. I'm too young to be a mother."

"I'm not ready to be a father, either," Clef said.

"Really? How old are you?"

"I'll be six-hundred in a couple months."

Miata laughed. "You're kidding. You know how many years that puts between us? Guess."

"A hundred?" Clef hazarded.

"Try twice that," Miata replied. "Well, close to it, anyway. I'm four-hundred nineteen."

"Oh," Clef said, shifting uncomfortably.

"It's not so bad," Miata said. "I'm certainly not a child, so you can stop squirming so guiltily. And I'd love you no matter how old you were, but-wow."

"Don't remind me," Clef said. "I don't like to think about how I'm getting old."

"Six-hundred isn't old. It's just older than me, that's all. You certainly didn't seem burdened with age a little bit ago."

Clef felt his face grow hot. "Well, I was-um-"

"It's so funny that you are still so shy around me," Miata said, amused, "but I don't mind. It's kind of cute."

"Eh?"

"Never mind," Miata sighed. "I thought I was telling you the story of the legend."

"I seem to remember that."

"What more do you want to know?"

"Why must she die?" Clef asked. "I mean, Emeraude. Why can't the Magic Knights or whoever open up the Cathedral and let her live?"

"The Magic Knights couldn't enter the Cathedral without Ferio," Miata replied.

"Ferio?"

"There are three people who can enter the Cathedral-Emeraude, myself, and Ferio. Only Ferio can open the doors to others."

"Why Ferio?"

"The Priests and Priestesses planned things very carefully," Miata explained. "Though a Pillar cannot survive childbirth, they are capable of carrying a half-human child, though the only pillar who did this was Cressida. Ferio is the only half-human, half-pillar in the world, and the only one who can open the Cathedral and wake the Priests and Priestesses. Anyone with Pillar blood feels the calling of that place."

"You feel it?"

"Yes. It is left over from the age before the Pillars, when the Priests and Priestesses could feel the call of the Cathedral, drawing them towards their destiny. It has a magic far older than the Pillars, of choosing those capable of governing Cephiro."

"I see."

"You probably would have been called, had you lived back then," Miata said. "Maybe you will be, when this is all over."

"How long will it be?" Clef wondered. Miata sighed.

"I don't know," she said. "I really don't know."

*

__

The girl was exhausted from stepping through the snow, against a driving wind. She clutched her arms around herself, shivering, but continuing forward. Why she was so driven she had no idea; but she felt as if she could not stop walking. Tired, cold, and very afraid, she came upon the banks of a still lake. It looked warm, so she stepped in, cautiously. The water had looked very still and placid from outside, but underneath the calm exterior was a current that pulled her in deeper. She held her breath as long as she could, fearing that she was drowning, but when she could no longer stop herself, she discovered that she could breathe-and that her clothing had disappeared. She curled up around herself and cried. There was silence all around her, and she lost consciousness.

Suddenly awareness returned.

Then the voices began.

--Who comes here?--

--Aurora--

--No-too much time has passed--

--The daughter of the Byrde--

--She is Aurora--

__

"My name is Miata!" the little girl had cried, lonely and afraid. "Who are you? What are you?"

--The ones who have gone before—

--The guardians of Cephiro—

--The High Order of the Crystalline Cathedral--

__

Miata had been taught of the Crystalline Cathedral, and relaxed a little. The Cathedral was not evil, though her mother didn't seem to hold its ways in the highest of regards. She was reasonably sure, though, that they would not harm an innocent child...at least, she hoped.

--What do you want here, child?--

__

"I...I don't know," Miata whimpered. "Just...to see...what was outside..."

--You don't belong here--

__

A force then began to lift her, and she rose slowly out of the water that was thick with voices. When she broke the surface, she found herself clothed again-but in a pale yellow dress that gathered at the neck and sleeves. Standing on the shore was a young woman with long green hair and golden eyes.

"Oh, my," she whispered. "Your mother...was quite worried for you."

"But-I've only been gone a few hours!" Miata protested.

"Perhaps this is how it feels to you, but it has been nearly four days, Miata. Without you, your mother lost all hope. She-"

Miata sensed what she was going to say before she finished. "No!" Miata cried, and disappeared. She reappeared in her home, inside the Forest of Songs.

"Mother!" she cried, looking around frantically. "Mother! Please, where are you?" She dashed outside-and stopped short.

"No..." she whispered. "It's all my fault...if I hadn't gone outside, you wouldn't have...Mother, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't blame yourself, Miata," the green-haired woman said. She had appeared shortly after Miata. "Lumina was never happy. She was not the first Byrde to take her own life. We can only pray that she will be the last."

"Who are you?" Miata demanded.

"I am Cressida, the Pillar of Cephiro," the woman replied. "I had come to the Cathedral to seek guidance, on what should be done when there is no longer a Byrde in Cephiro. But now I see that you are alive."

"What do you want from me?"

"Back at the Palace, there is a little girl your age, but she has no friends," Cressida replied. "And I thought, here is another little girl with no friends. She has lost the only person in the world that is dear to her. Your mother was the only friend I had, a long time ago."

Miata looked up at her. "Just get me out of this forest," she said. "I never want to see it again."

*

"He always has to be better than me..." Clef muttered, watching his brother continue his match in the fencing tournament.

"Don't be so bummed, Clef," another boy commented. "Aston's way older than you, and he could beat any of us. He's the best swordsman from our school."

"And I'm the worst," Clef replied glumly.

"You're the best in all our academic classes, though..."

"What good is that going to do me? When a monster attacks me, should I pull out my logarithm to defend myself? Challenge someone to a duel with parts of speech? My verbs against your nouns, en garde!"

The boy laughed. "I'm sure you'll outshine your brother one day, Clef."

A loud voice cut above all the others. "Aston wins the match!" A cheer rose up through the crowd, and Clef's brother grinned and took a bow. Clef cheered half-heartedly.

Clef had watched his brother compete in tournaments before, but this was the most important tournament he'd ever been entered in. Now Aston neared the final round. There were representatives from all the schools in Cephiro here in the capital, and present at the tournament was Cressida, the Pillar of Cephiro herself. Clef could see her sitting in a special area with some other well-known Cephirans. She watched the fencing with interest.

Though gambling wasn't officially sanctioned for these matches, Clef knew that it was going on-and he knew that his brother was the favored competitor. Aston was undefeated. He was wonderful. Amazing. There was nothing but good to be said of him. If he won this tournament, the title of Dal would be bestowed upon him, the youngest ever to receive the title. He would work with Princess Cressida's chief bodyguard, and take his place when he retired.

Clef wished sullenly that his brother could be a little less gracious about his good fortune. If Aston had gloated or rubbed it in that he was so much better than his little brother, Clef would have had the reason he sought to hate him. But instead, he was good to Clef, and tried to help him, even when all the other teachers at their school had given up on him. Clef felt that he might be able to stand his older brother if there were just one thing he could outshine him in, one thing that Clef could do better than his seemingly perfect older brother.

Now Aston faced his final opponent. He smiled, and held his sword ready, waiting for the blow of a whistle to begin the match. Clef's eyes wandered to the booth where the Pillar was sitting.

To see her looking directly back at him.

He gulped and looked away. His brother had begun the match, and he actually looked nervous for the first time that day. His opponent was from another school, and seemed to be on the same skill level as Aston. He also had the advantage of being almost thirty years older.

But where he might have been more experienced, he didn't have Aston's luck. When Clef's older brother defeated his opponent, the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Clef felt a grudging pride stirring inside him, and smiled. Aston blew a kiss to the Pillar's booth, and Cressida blew one back, laughing, while her current bodyguard, Jetta, scolded. Now another young man in the Pillar's booth was watching Clef, but he still didn't know why.

After the ceremony to bestow upon Aston his new rank, this young man who had been watching him earlier approached Clef.

"Excuse me," he said, "but do you attend the Second Academy of Learning and Swordsmanship in the town of Lancia?"

Confused, Clef nodded.

"As I suspected. Your talents are being wasted, boy, utterly wasted."

"I don't have any talents," Clef sighed. "The only things I'm good at are book-learning and being clumsy."

"You're wrong," the man replied. "You have magic, the most powerful potential for magic that I've ever seen. Cressida says that you'll be one of the most powerful magicians Cephiro has ever known. Will you transfer to the Cephiran Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences to put this potential to use?"

"I-I'd love to..." Clef began, dazed with happiness. He wasn't sure if he was awake or dreaming. This man actually saw something in him! He was so happy he could have shouted in joy. "But...I must make sure it is all right with my brother."

"Yes, yes. My name is Guru Sable. Come find me when you have made your decision."

After the ceremony, Clef went in search of his older brother. Aston came up behind him, lifting him off the ground. Clef squawked.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded as Aston set him down on the ground. "I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"This is the happiest day of my life," Aston replied. "Please excuse me for being a little bit overexcited."

"Dal Aston, may I have your permission to attend the Cephiran Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences?"

"Magic? You're-you have-I never knew there was magic in our family!"

"A man just told me that I have the potential. I hope he can be trusted--he was up in the booth with Cressida."

"Jetta's son? Sable?"

"That's what he said his name was, yes. Guru Sable."

"I think you can trust him, he's a professor there! I can't believe that you had magic all along and never knew it, kid! I guess it goes to show that...well, it goes to show something. When you're a great magician, the two of us will make a pretty good team, don't you think?"

"As equals," Clef replied, but a future with his brother didn't look so bad, now.

But it was never to be.

"Aston? Have you finished saying good-bye to your brother yet?" The voice belonged to Cressida, who stepped into the room, daintily lifting the hem of her white skirts off the floor. She was followed by two small girls, a thoughtful-looking blonde and a sullen redhead who seemed to be around the same age.

"Oh! Hello. You must be Clef, right?" Cressida said. "I wish you the best of luck in your new course of study. A mage's life can be a difficult one, but I trust that you will come out all right in the end."

Clef noticed the way his brother was looking at Cressida, and the way she looked back at him, and knew there was something between them. He also realized that the little red-haired girl was staring at him. 


	8. The End of the Dream

The end of the dream

"It's all been like a dream," Miata murmured, "but yet, I'm so afraid..."

"Maybe you could work some spell to set this forest away from Time," Clef replied, "so we wouldn't have to live with this shadow over us."

"Despite that, it's still been wonderful. Happy birthday, Clef," Miata said, and kissed his forehead.

"Happy indeed," Clef muttered sarcastically. "I'm 745 today. Now will you believe me when I say I'm too old for you?"

"You say that every year," Miata replied. "But there seems to be a shortage of men in the Forest of Songs, so I guess I'm stuck with you."

"I don't know," Clef replied. "You do seem to find the trees pretty good company..." Miata laughed and slapped him playfully. 

Every morning they woke up further under a shadow of uncertainty. They knew their time together would soon come to an end. It had been so many years-and yet they had never grown tired of each other. There had been conflicts between them, of course, some lasting for several days, but the majority of the time they were simply happy together.

__

How much longer can this last? Miata wondered.

"I'm leaving the forest," she announced.

*

"Miata..." Emeraude sighed. "why have you come here?" The princess's voice sounded weak, and she lay in bed, her face pale. She was a feeble wreck. How could Miata have not known that the Pillar of Cephiro had come to this?

"I can kill you," Miata replied. "Without the need for the Magic Knights, without chaos and bloodshed. I do not depend on you. I can give you a poison that will kill you painlessly, and put an end to the age of the Pillars. Then, with the Return, you and Zagato will be reunited."

"But...the legend..." 

"To hell with the legend! It isn't right. This is the best way. Look at you, already so weakened. What must be happening to Cephiro?"

"There has already been so much bloodshed..." Emeraude sighed. "I have hidden the location of Clef, but all the other mages have been killed, or cannot be found. Even Guru Sable has been murdered...I really did not know how much suffering I would bring. I do not want to cause a war that will rip my world apart, simply because I love him. Please, Miata, just kill me. Ferio will know, and you will be able to show him to the Cathedral...it will be enough."

Miata nodded. She produced a vial of poison, and gave it to the Pillar. Emeraude looked at it, thinking.

"When we were young, we thought we'd live normal lives, didn't we? I don't know what gave us the idea that we could, but we did. Now look at us. I envy you, to be allowed to continue to live...and allowed to love...but this is not my destiny. Good-bye, Miata."

She held the vial to her lips, but that was when the walls began to shake. The poison slipped from her weak fingers to spill on her dress. Miata spun around to see Sol Zagato in the doorway.

"So, we meet again, Byrde."

"Please...don't do this...Zagato..." Emeraude whispered.

"I cannot go on any longer," Zagato replied. "Now...Miata, where are you hiding Guru Clef?"

"Somewhere you will never find him," Miata replied. "Zagato, why? You know the legend. You know that in the end all you will cause is suffering."

"The Magic Knights will not awaken the Mashin," Zagato replied. He strode to the bed where the pillar lay and lifted her with ease.

"Zagato...you can't..."

Zagato shot a fireball at Miata from his palm. She dodged it and chased after him, but someone else jumped down in front of her.

"I knew we'd meet again, Mazda Miata," a silky voice said. Miata rolled her eyes.

"Alcione. I should have realized that wherever Zagato was, you'd be hanging on to the edge of his cape. You do realize that he loves her, don't you?"

Alcione laughed. "Zagato does not love that child. I suppose you're still hanging on to that old man?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Miata replied.

"Our teacher, if you do recall correctly. Guru Clef always had a thing for you."

"Don't bring Clef into this!" Miata cried angrily.

"You always were a bitch, weren't you?" Alcione said. "So immature. You never cared for your studies, only for parties and men."

"You weren't such a model student yourself," Miata replied. "I didn't care about my studies because I already knew more than they were trying to teach me!"

"Oh, did you? _Allayah!_"

Miata was thankful for her training sessions in battle magic with Clef in the Forest of Songs. "_Sheiro!_" she cried, and Alcione's ice attack dissipated.

"How did you..._Arile_!"

"_Tyandet!_" Not only did the ice spear disappear, but the light also went out of Alcione's staff. She gasped.

"How did you do that? Guru Clef taught me his most powerful magic!"

"Clef himself couldn't stand a chance against the woman second in power to the Pillar herself. Do you care to try me?"

"Zagato needs me, dear," Alcione replied condescendingly. "Give my regards to our former professor." The sorceress dashed off, but Zagato was out of sight.

__

I'm too late...

I must return to Clef!

Miata disappeared from the halls of the Palace, reappearing in the home she and Clef had made in the forest. Seeing it nearly made her cry.

"Miata! Where have you been?" Clef gasped. "I-"

"It's over. Zagato has kidnapped the Princess."

"Zagato-how did he-"

"Emeraude was in a weak state. All the mages of any importance in Cephiro are dead. You are the only one left. Soon the Pillar will summon the Magic Knights, and you will be needed to guide them."

"Then we're going? To help them?"

"No. You are, alone. I have to do this, Clef. I'm sorry."

"Miata, no! We've been together too long. I can't go on without you, Miata. You're everything to me. I won't go."

"You're being just as selfish as Zagato," Miata replied through clenched teeth, struggling to keep tears from falling from her eyes.

"Love is a selfish thing," Clef replied. "Love is destructive. But you can't expect me to willingly be separated from you."

Miata looked at him. "But I can make you forget," she said softly. "Like I knew that I would have to, from the beginning. And there is no time to waste."

She stepped towards him slowly. "Clef, I love you more than anything. But I know what I have to do. Perhaps I am the only one." He stood with his face inches away from hers, motionless, watching for her to do something. She kissed his lips, and he held her so tightly it was difficult to breathe. Miata called on the magic of the Forest to do what she had to do, and after a long moment she broke the kiss and smiled at him. Clef's expression went from contemplative to horrified, and Miata released the spell.

"You-" he began, but then the world was too bright to see, hear, or feel. Miata saw him collapse, and could no longer stop the tears from flowing.

__

"Help save our world...Legendary Magic Knights!"

Clef awoke on the crest of a hill, a feeling of urgency instilled in him-but also the regret one feels when he wakes up from a particularly wonderful dream, and realizes that reality is not the same. He looked at his hands-and realized there was something wrong with them. Everything looked too tall-

How had he been put into the body of a child? There was no time to worry about that now, though-more urgent pressures were at hand. Such as the three Magic Knights that appeared in the sky...

Clef didn't know how he knew to summon Fyula, or how he knew that the Magic Knights were the ones plummeting down from the sky. Neither could he find the source of inescapable sorrow that plagued him. Images of the dream escaped him, taunting him with thoughts he could not define.

But it must have been a wonderful dream indeed.


End file.
